Eileen Farrell (February 13, 1920 – March 23, 2002) was an Americansoprano who had a nearly 60-year-long career performing bothclassical andpopular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. NPR noted, "She possessed one of the largest and most radiant operatic voices of the 20th century."[1] While she was active as anopera singer, her concert engagements far outnumbered her theatrical appearances. Her career was mainly based in the United States, although she did perform internationally.The Daily Telegraph stated that she "was one of the finest American sopranos of the 20th century; she had a voice of magnificent proportions which she used with both acumen and artistry in a wide variety of roles." And described as having a voice "like some unparalleled phenomenon of nature. She is to singers what Niagara is to waterfalls."[2]
Farrell began her career in 1940 as a member of the CBS Chorus onCBS Radio. In 1941 CBS Radio offered Farrell her own program,Eileen Farrell Sings, on which she performed both classical and popular music for 5 years.[2] In 1947 she launched her career as a concert soprano and nine years later began performing on theopera stage.[3] The pinnacle of her opera career was five seasons performing at theMetropolitan Opera from 1960 to 1966. She continued to perform and record both classical and popular music throughout her career, and is credited for releasing the first successfulcrossover album:I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues (1960).[4] After announcing her retirement from performance in 1986, she still continued to perform and record music periodically up into the late 1990s.[5][3] She was also active as avoice teacher, both privately and for nine years atIndiana University.[3]
Farrell was born inWillimantic, Connecticut, the youngest of three children born to Irish American Catholics Michael Farrell and Catherine Farrell (née Kennedy). Her parents werevaudeville singers who had performed under the name 'The Singing O'Farrells' prior to having children. The family moved quite frequently during Farrell's childhood to various towns in Connecticut. Eileen's first clear memories were of her family's home inStorrs, Connecticut which was where her parents were working as teachers of music and drama atStorrs Agricultural College (now theUniversity of Connecticut).[2]
When Farrell was five years old, her family moved back to Willimantic. After she attended first grade there, her family moved once again toNorwich, Connecticut, after her mother obtained the post of organist at St. Mary's Church in that city. The family remained in Norwich for almost the next 10 years, with Farrell completing her freshman year of high school at Norwich Free Academy in 1935. The family then moved toWoonsocket, Rhode Island, and Farrell entered Woonsocket High School in Fall 1936. She graduated from the school in 1939.
Farrell received her early vocal training from her parents during her childhood. Her mother, a talentedcoloratura soprano, was her primary teacher, but her father, abaritone, also occasionally taught her. Miss Farrell's early singing career was greatly encouraged by her local pastor, Father Cornelius J. Holland, atSt. Charles Borromeo Church in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. After graduating from high school, she moved to New York City in August 1939 to study with retired Metropolitan Operacontralto Merle Alcock. While studying singing with Alcock, she received language coaching from Charlie Baker, who was the music director ofRutgers Presbyterian Church. After working with him for a few months, he hired her as a paid singer at Rutgers. When her radio career took off, Baker became Farrell's vocal coach and helped her prepare most of her music. In her autobiography,Can't Help Singing: The Life of Eileen Farrell (1999), she credits Baker with helping her succeed during the early years of her career on radio. Farrell later was a student of vocal and opera coach Eleanor McLellan, whom she credited for giving her a solid technique.[4]
In 1940 Farrell began her career as a member of the CBS Chorus. After three months with the chorus, CBS offered her a weekly half-hour radio program,Eileen Farrell Sings (also sometimes calledEileen Farrell Presents), on which she would perform both classical and popular music accompanied by theCBS Orchestra under conductor Howard Barlow. The program was coordinated by music director Jim Fassett and was mostly recorded at what is now theEd Sullivan Theater. On the program she got to sing with several notable guest artists, includingMargaret Harshaw,Frank Sinatra,Martial Singher, andRisë Stevens. The program first aired in early 1941 and quickly became popular. It ran through 1946.
While singing on her own program, Farrell also appeared as a guest on several other radio programs. She was a regular guest onAndre Kostelanetz'sThe Pause That Refreshes andBernard Herrmann'sInvitation to Music. She also made appearances onThe Bell Telephone Hour,The Prudential Family Hour,Songs of the Centuries, andYour Hit Parade among others. In 1944 she made a special Christmas recording that was for the American soldiers stationed abroad during World War II, withShirley Temple as mistress of ceremonies.
During 1947–1948, she toured the US as a concert singer, and in 1949 she toured South America.
Farrell's song recital in New York in October 1950 was enthusiastically acclaimed and gained her immediate recognition. That year, she also appeared in a concert performance ofBerg'sWozzeck as Marie. In 1952, she was engaged byArturo Toscanini for his first and onlyRCA Victor studio recording ofBeethoven'sNinth Symphony, with theNBC Symphony Orchestra.
In the 1955 filmInterrupted Melody, which starredEleanor Parker as Australian sopranoMarjorie Lawrence, Eileen Farrell supplied the singing voice. As early as 1956 she appeared before an audience of over 13,000 under the direction of the conductorAlfredo Antonini in a performance of arias fromVerdi'sErnani at theLewisohn Stadium in New York City.[6]
In 1956, she made her stage debut as Santuzza inMascagni'sCavalleria rusticana with the San Carlo Opera inTampa, Florida. In 1957 she debuted with theLyric Opera of Chicago; in 1958, with theSan Francisco Opera. She made herMetropolitan Opera debut on December 6, 1960, singing the title role inGluck'sAlceste. She opened the 1962–63 Met season as Maddalena inGiordano'sAndrea Chénier, oppositeFranco Corelli. She remained on the Met roster through the 1963–64 season, singing forty-four performances in six roles, then returned in March 1966 for two final performances as Maddalena. Her other roles at the Met included the title role inPonchielli'sLa Gioconda, Leonora in Verdi'sLa forza del destino, Isabella inde Falla'sAtlàntida, and Santuzza.
Farrell was equally at home singing pop material and opera. She recorded four albums of popular music forColumbia Records:I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues,Here I Go Again,This Fling Called Love andTogether with Love.
Throughout the 1960s she was a frequent soloist with theNew York Philharmonic under the direction ofLeonard Bernstein; she was also a favorite ofThomas Schippers. WithEugene Ormandy, thePhiladelphia Orchestra, and theMormon Tabernacle Choir, she was a featured soloist in an abridged recording ofHandel'sMessiah. The other featured soloists wereMartha Lipton,Davis Cunningham andWilliam Warfield.
From 1971 to 1980, Farrell was professor of music at theIndiana University School of Music inBloomington. From 1983 to 1985, she was professor of music at theUniversity of Maine inOrono. She also made several recordings of blues music late in her career, as well as a well-received duet withFrank Sinatra on hisTrilogy album (1979), in which they sang a version of the country music hit "For the Good Times". This introduced her to a new group of fans, especially Sinatra expert Charles Fasciano, who considered this song his personal favorite. She published a memoir,Can't Help Singing, in 1999.
Beginning in 1987 she began to record pop albums again. Her first was for the Audiophile label calledWith Much Love. She later recorded several albums for the Reference label that were well received.
Farrell was married to a New York Police Department officer, Robert Vincent Reagan, with whom she maintained homes in theGrymes Hill andEmerson Hill areas of Staten Island, New York. They had a son and daughter. He died in 1986. She was elected to Woonsocket's Hall of Fame. A resident ofCliffside Park, New Jersey, Farrell died at a nursing home inPark Ridge, New Jersey, on March 23, 2002, aged 82.[4]
